NWS to be ‘one-stop shop’ for nuclear waste management and disposal
We are here to provide solutions for a challenge that affects us all. Over the last 70 years, nuclear technology has been a part of our lives in the UK. It provides around 15% of the UK’s electricity and is used in industry, medicine, and defence.
Today, nuclear power is viewed by the government as essential to the green energy mix and securing our energy supply in the future.
This waste needs to be managed safely and securely, both now and for the very long-term.
The NWS strategy, published today (25 April), is focused on key strategic objectives to ensure that the right waste form, in the right package, is managed or disposed of at the right facility.
NWS will support accelerated decommissioning through innovation, with legacy and future waste streams managed in the most sustainable and efficient way through technology development, expertise and setting worldwide standards to provide value for the UK.
What this means for example, is that capping will start on the Low Level Waste Repository in 2024-25; thermal treatment technologies will be developed as a proven technology by 2026-27; and decisions on the communities to progress as part of the Geological Disposal Facility programme will be made by 2026.
In a joint statement, NWS Chair Adrienne Kelbie and NWS CEO Corhyn Parr said:
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) CEO David Peattie said:
NWS brings together the UK’s leading nuclear waste management capabilities and is part of the NDA group, which has a collective long-term mission to clean up nuclear sites safely, securely, and cost-effectively.